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In CHASING GHOSTS: A Soldier's Fight for America from Baghdad to Washington, Paul Rieckhoff writes with heartbreaking intensity and raw emotion about his experience as the First Lieutenant and Platoon leader for the U.S. National Guard in Iraq. Perhaps what is most impressive about Rieckhoff's memoir is that he never lets this emotion cloud his clear-eyed analysis of the situation. "My entire role in this war was a paradox," he writes. "Against the war from the beginning, I volunteered to go fight in it....I was torn in half, wrestling with my hunger for combat and my distrust for the president."
Rieckhoff is the son of a veteran and a graduate of the prestigious Amherst College, a decidedly liberal, anti-war atmosphere. He already was aware of the paradoxes, absurdities and ironies of the war, of his mission, and of American and Middle Eastern culture. He never cockily assumed he knew what he was getting into, but he does bring with him a thorough understanding of the complex social, political, religious, philosophical and moral issues that have played out in this defining moment of American history. Moreover, he brings with him onto the battlefield a vigorous analytical mind that never seems to rest, that never seems to stop trying to peel away the layers of his fellow soldiers, his superiors, the Iraqis, the government, the army and the war itself to see what lies below the surface.
Interspersing infamous political moments such as Donald Rumsfeld's "You don't fight with the army you want" statement and Bush's "Bring 'em on" speech with what was occurring personally for him and his fellow soldiers, Rieckhoff masterfully demonstrates how out of touch the leaders of the country were --- what with their brash displays of patriotism --- from the impact those statements and that collective mindset had on the actual soldiers fighting for those words.
Rieckhoff may be the closest thing we have to an "embedded reporter." Away from the relative safety of a hotel or an American embassy, marooned in the desert and quite literally among the fray, he was positioned in the midst of the conflict and took notes. The style of presentation of what he saw, what he wished he hadn't seen and what needs to be told is deceptively matter of fact. He makes blunt, honest, short statements and his prose is decidedly masculine; a Hemingway-esque marriage of bare-bones language used to tackle complex ideas.
"I developed a methodical, pragmatic callousness in Iraq," he states about one-third into the book. Rieckhoff, like Hemingway, has faith that his readers will not simply take that statement at face value, but will see the underlying implications of it for the persona of the narrator. Rieckhoff trusts that his audience will see a man trying to cope with brutality, moral dilemma and death the only way he thinks he can --- in that moment, by attempting not to let his emotions overwhelm him, by trying to remain untouched. We know he does not succeed in this, and it makes the statement, and the situation, that much more heartbreaking.
Rieckhoff enlisted in the Army five months after graduating college in September 1998. He is called to duty to take part in what will later be known as Operation Iraqi Freedom on January 3, 2003. His insight into the depravity, the camaraderie, the sanity and the chaos of war is matched by his shock at the state of the U.S. in his absence. Again, not letting his emotion overrun his analysis, his recollection of the deep disillusionment that he and his fellow soldiers experienced when they came home proves the most effective way to convey just how far gone our country has become, just how far we veered off course from whatever varying yet valid motives some of those in the Bush administration may have had for invading Iraq. The emotion is there, though, the anger, passion and disappointment lurk within the lines, and on every page there is a sentence that sears.
Rieckhoff also found the incongruity of life after Iraq to be a driving force --- upon his return he has devoted himself to provoking a nationwide awareness and conversation about Iraq. By founding one of the nation's largest veteran's organization, IAVA (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, formerly Operation Truth), touring colleges and appearing on shows like "Hardball with Chris Matthews," Rieckhoff demands that politicians and citizens open their eyes and take responsibility.
CHASING GHOSTS provokes a visceral reaction --- readers will find themselves wincing, gasping, laughing and tearing up. They will also find themselves hard pressed not to finish the book in one sitting; it's nearly impossible to find an appropriate pausing point, and even more of a tall order to try to get the book out of your head. The blunt force of Rieckhoff's observations, his evocative recreation of his own experiences and the emotions that those experiences provoked will remain with readers, shaking them and waking them up to the harsh realities of the war and this time.
Far from preachy, gripping and well-plotted, CHASING GHOSTS does not try to push a party line, but is instead a persuasive argument for coming to terms, on a national level, with the realities of what we have gotten ourselves into.
--- Reviewed by Jen Krieger
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